Call to amend number plate rules

The Government has been urged to back a change in the law to allow drivers to choose any combination of letters and numbers in personalised registration plates.

Tory James Duddridge, MP for Rochford and Southend East, proposed the move, which would allow people to put their full names on plates.

Mr Duddridge - who said he would rather buy JAMES than J4 MES - estimated that an additional £1 billion could be raised for Government coffers over the next decade from deregulating plates.

No matter how much drivers are willing to pay, plates that spell out a word using only letters are not currently recognised in law.

Introducing his Sale of Registration Marks (Amendment) Bill, Mr Duddridge told MPs it "will give people the ability to choose from a much wider variety of letter and number combinations on their licence plate.

"This would mean it was possible to purchase a licence plate that spelt out a word exactly as it is in the English language, giving people greater choice and bringing additional millions of pounds to the DVLA."

He added that ministers should think of the proposals as "voluntary taxation".